Lydia Pearson
|image1= |caption1= |gender=Female |age=Approximately 41 |first_appearance="Ziterella" |last_appearance="The Finale" |voiced_by=April Winchell }}Lydia Pearson (nee' Lilly) is the older daughter of Leo and Lillian Lilly, the older sister of Janie Diggety, the mother of Pepper Ann and Moose Pearson, and the ex-wife of Chuck Pearson. Lydia is a divorced, single working mother. She works at a fashion boutique called "It's You", and makes pretty good money, not to mention being extremely popular with the ladies who shop there. Pepper Ann is usually embarrassed by her, but Lydia does surprise her sometimes--like the fact that she personally knows Mick Snot ("Snot Your Mother's Music"). Pepper Ann also realizes from time to time how much alike they are, like in "P.A.'s Life In A Nutshell" when she discovers Lydia's diary from when she was in seventh grade. Personality Lydia is very big on "family time" and getting along, and gets irked quite easily if she feels someone isn't participating. She seems to be a very good mother as she is affectionate and cares very much about what her daughters go through, but is also firm and does what she can to teach them responsibility. She is quite supportive of her daughters' interests and does what she can to encourage them to be strong and independent. Most of the time, she seems quite willing to listen to Pepper Ann when she disagrees with one of her methods, but occasionally, Lydia has no interest in putting up with her shenanigans. However, Lydia also has a bossy side. She has no problem trying to force others to do what she thinks is best and can be quite overbearing in many of her relationships, including with her sister. This also explains the controlling side of her personality in which things must be as perfect as possible, whether she's hosting a dinner ("Thanksgiving Dad") or planning an entire event ("The Environ-Mentals", "Cold Feet", among others). Lydia also sometimes has no concept of modesty in certain situations, such as bra-shopping with her daughter ("In Support Of"), which mortifies Pepper Ann immensely. Lydia, much like her hippie sister Janie, is a staunch feminist and is a part of a group known as "Adamant Eve" in which the women of Hazelnut get together and discuss politics, pop culture, literature, and have an annual retreat where they re-enact the burning of bras and women's suffrage ("The Sisterhood"). Lydia is also revealed to have a funny side, as evidenced by the fact that she performed her own stand-up comedy routine and coined the name 'Lydia "Laff-Riot" Pearson', to rave reviews ("Def Comedy Mom"). Lydia is also quite chipper and very friendly and outgoing. And while she is a strong and independent feminist, she is not immune to her own self-image, as she is frequently said to be "dieting" and being quite careful about things being "fat-free," etc. This could have to do with issues with Lydia's mother, Lillian, who occasionally makes critical comments about Lydia about numerous things. The Lillys are a Jewish family, and Lydia seems to be a fairly dedicated woman of her faith as she attends the local synagogue and actively participates in major Jewish holidays like Hanukkah ("A Kosher Christmas"). Overall, Lydia has a reputation of being very together and in-control and quite responsible. Though this sometimes causes Pepper Ann to wish Lydia were cooler and less "together," Pepper Ann truly depends on her mother's old-fashioned brand of wisdom in certain situations. Appearance Lydia has red hair, wears glasses, and has pink earrings. She wears a magenta ascot on her neck, and a blue and yellow patterned shirt. She wears two pink bracelets on her right hand, blue pants, and magenta shoes. Relationships While they do sometimes trade insults, Lydia and her ex-husband, Chuck, get along well for the most part and while saying they're "friends" might be a bit of a stretch, they're at least civil to each other, even if it is mostly for their daughters' sake. Lydia's first romantic relationship after her divorce with Chuck was with her oldest daughter's science teacher, Roland Carter. While Lydia and Roland enjoyed each other's company while they were dating, they broke up after realizing that they really didn't have anything in common outside of their PTA-projects ("Like Riding a Bike"). Other relationships include Bernie Guberstein and Alex Trebek, the latter of whom Lydia eventually marries, making him Pepper Ann and Moose's stepfather. Category:Characters Category:Females